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About new method to speak English well

Hi,
I found a new method to help all learners speak English well. It says that "grammar kills your English speaking" and "you should forget English grammar", does it say correctly ?
I can't image that how I am when I don't know English grammar (basic level at least) to start learning speaking.
I think that we must master English grammar first, learn it naturally and accept some possible and conventional mistakes in spoken English.
I think when speaking , the people don't care much about grammar mistake, it is only necessary to be understandable. That also happens to my language, people don't care about grammar when speaking. So that is the reason the above method says "forget English grammar". For me, I feel really hard when speaking with correct grammar. But, what happens when I can speak well without understanding grammar ? How can I do my English tests then ? I think I may surely receive some zeros.
Please give me your opinions on this method.
Thank you so much !

Re: About new method to speak English well

**Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.**

I think grammar is very important.
However, it also depends on whom you speak to.
If it's a beginner, you will not need to use "perfect" grammar because the person cannot handle it.
Whether you say:I will leave tomorrow.
I am going to leave tomorrow.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
I leave tomorrow.
anyone would understand you.

Furthermore I cannot really understand how they can suggest to forget the English grammar.Everything is grammar.Does he play well?
Okay, now let's forget the grammar.Plays he good?

Yes, it's an extreme example, although almost everyone would understand you, but it's horrible.

Better example:
(You are new in a town.)Some guy: Hello, are you new here?
You: Yes, I've been here for a month.
You: Yes, I'm here for a month. -> No grammar.Of course answer 2 can be correct, but let's say one month ago you arrived and you're still here.
In that case no one can know what you mean if you say it wrong.

Let me ask you something:
Where exactly do you feel very hard when using correct grammar?

Of course there are situations where you must decide if it's worthy to use correct grammar.
Let's say: "He plays better than I. " "It's I." "I too."
If you're a rebel, stick to them.
If you want to avoid questions, use what most people use.

Re: About new method to speak English well

Almost all learners of English have studied it for some time (school etc.) so have had quite a lot of exposure to the language.

Too much grammar instruction can make them worried about not creating perfect sentences in their heads before they speak.

This anxiety causes them to have trouble speaking. By not studying grammar but reading and listening to English that is understandable and then trying to talk about it can make a big difference.

Everyone is slightly different in the level of anxiety they have about speaking and some people like to refresh their knowledge of some grammar before they try to speak it.

The main thing is to get as much focused practice speasking as possible if you wish to improve your speaking and listening skills.

The key to unlocking all of the language they learners have studied for years but don't speak is to lower their level of anxiety and that requires careful small steps that include language topic preparation and then practice.

Re: About new method to speak English well

Originally Posted by Nightmare85

**Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.**

I think grammar is very important.
However, it also depends on whom you speak to.
If it's a beginner, you will not need to use "perfect" grammar because the person cannot handle it.
Whether you say:I will leave tomorrow.
I am going to leave tomorrow.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
I leave tomorrow.
anyone would understand you.

Furthermore I cannot really understand how they can suggest to forget the English grammar.Everything is grammar.Does he play well?
Okay, now let's forget the grammar.Plays he good?

Yes, it's an extreme example, although almost everyone would understand you, but it's horrible.

Better example:
(You are new in a town.)Some guy: Hello, are you new here?
You: Yes, I've been here for a month.
You: Yes, I'm here for a month. -> No grammar.Of course answer 2 can be correct, but let's say one month ago you arrived and you're still here.
In that case no one can know what you mean if you say it wrong.

Let me ask you something:
Where exactly do you feel very hard when using correct grammar?

Of course there are situations where you must decide if it's worthy to use correct grammar.
Let's say: "He plays better than I. " "It's I." "I too."
If you're a rebel, stick to them.
If you want to avoid questions, use what most people use.

Cheers!

Thank you for your opinions. I feel hard to speak grammatically correctly because I have to spend time thinking what I will speak which must be grammatically correct.
So that makes me can't be confident to speak unless I don't care much about using grammar correctly.
Thank you !

Re: About new method to speak English well

We do need to grasp the main points of the grammar, however, when I answer learners in "Ask a teacher", I keep doing it more according to my ears than to any grammar books -I just used it to learn the language at first. The learners obviously miss too often this. The ears are the native speakers main strength, so we can take advantage of this, too. As a French, I always use my ears to know if something is right or if something is wrong.

Since I started doing this, I have really been improving my English. When I see some learners pushing their way to overmaster the English grammar, I consider it a huge waste of time. Once you made the grammar yours, try your ears!

IMHO

EDIT:

Originally Posted by crazYgeeK

Thank you for your opinions. I feel hard to speak grammatically correctly because I have to spend time thinking what I will speak which must be grammatically correct.
So that makes me can't be confident to speak unless I don't care much about using grammar correctly.
Thank you !

That is just a lack of practice! I can speak fluently for now as I have practised this very skill.

Re: About new method to speak English well

When you're speaking, your primary aim is to get your message across and to understand responses. Worrying too much about grammar can have an inhibiting effect. If you say 'I will see you on 3 o'clock', does it really matter that you have got the preposition wrong? The other person will understand. If you say 'I saw you at 3 o'clock tomorrow', in some contexts I may know what you mean, in others not, but I can ask for clarification.

Eventually, though things make no sense, so there has to be some grammar to achieve a meaning. When you're talking though, focus on your message.

BTW, do remember that the site you were reading is an advert and not a piece of objective analysis of language learning- it's not very scientific.

Re: About new method to speak English well

I agree that worrying too much about grammar when simply speaking generally can inhibit you to the point where you're too scared to say anything at all.

The important thing is communication. If the listener understands what you mean, then neither you nor the listener should worry about the grammar.

As the others have said, some basic grammar is vital otherwise sentences won't make any sense at all.

I live in Madrid and am trying to learn Spanish. When I am actively studying, doing exercises etc I try to use correct grammar. When I'm chatting to someone at a party, or to a complete stranger on the Metro, I am more concerned with simply getting my message across. If the grammar is a bit off, I don't care and the people I speak to don't seem to care either. My current problem is the past tense - I can rarely remember the correct endings, or when to use which form of the past tense. As a result, I usually end up using the present tense and then a timeframe ("I am in hospital yesterday" for example). I know it's wrong but the listener knows what I mean! The more practice I get at speaking, the more confident I become and gradually my grammar and vocabulary get better, but I consider the act of speaking to be much more important to begin with.

Re: About new method to speak English well

Taken broadly, grammar is defined as those conventions a language community respects in order to communicate. In this sense, you can't speak without grammar. Too many people think that the written study of traditional grammar in schools is all that "grammar" is. It's much more than that, and practising speech, when done right, is also practising grammar.